Process of treating plastic materials.



No Drawing.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAYMOND B. PRICE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS OF TREATING PLASTIC MATERIALS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, RAYMOND B. PRICE, a citizen of the United States, residing the borough of Manhattan,city of New York, State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Processes of Treating Plastic Materials, of which the following is a specification. v

My invention relates to the treatment of plastic material,-such as rubber and the like, and more particularly to the setting or vul-- canizing of the same, and has for its object to provide certain improvementsin the process of treating the same aswill be hereinafter more specifically described and I claimed.

More specifically, my improvement consists in treating the article or materlal,

- 'ivhether in assembled form, like a boot or shoe, or in bulk, first, to a preliminary heating above the setting or vulcanlzmg temperature, and either under pressure or-wv1thout pressure, or in a vacuum, .said pressure or vacuum being of any desired degree, and then setting or vulcanizing the same by any desired method Whatsover. And 1 contem plate a preliminary Warming of the material being treated, Without any pressure, and

v with or Without the application thereto of a vacuum, preliminary to said higher temperature, and which may be intermittent with said higher temperature, or may follow it,

if desired. In fact, I contemplate the application of either or both of these described heating Or warming steps, as Well as the subsequent setting or vulcanizing step under any conditions of pressure or vacuum and at any desired speed.

By the setting or vulcanizing temperature I mean that temperature at which the article or material begins practically to set or vulcanize, which in the case of rubber is at apiroximately the melting point of sulfur.

.Ihis preliminary heating of the article or material is What. may be termed a warmingup process, and any setting or vulcanization caused thereby will be merely superficial. Excellent resultscan be obtained by disposing the article or material to be treated in a heater suitably warmed and then admitting Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. "7,1915.

Application filed March 8, 1913. Serial No. 753,126.

a pre-heated gas, and for this purpose I may employ any desired gas, inert or not, or

is then subjected to the setting or vulcanizing heat, which may be by means of steam, 'alror other gas of vapor under pressure, or

described that the pressure or vacuum may be varied at will during the operation, and that the preliminary and setting or vulcanizing heats may be also varied at Will during their respective operations.

In carrying out my improved process I contemplate either the use of separate heaters or vulcanizers, one for the pre-heating and one for the setting or vulcanizing, or' the carrying out of both steps of the process in the same heater.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The process of treating settable material or articles, which consists in first subjecting the same to a preliminary Warming, at or under atmospheric pressure, then to a pre-heating at a temperature above' the setsteam. The material or article so pre-heated ting temperature, and then subjecting them to the setting operation.

it. The process of vulcanizing rubber,

which consists in first subjecting the same to a preliminary Warming, at or under atmes my hand in the presence of two subscribing 'pheric pressure, then to a pre-heating at a witnesses. temperature above the Yulcanizing tempera- RAYMOND B PRICE 'ture and at a controllaMe pressureabove, at 5 or below atmosphere, and than vulcanizing Witnesses:

the same. CHARLOTTE M. SGHULE, In testimonv whereof. I have hereunto set MAY V. SMITH. 

